Words derived from names of real or fictitious people are called Eponyms. It is formed from the Greek word ‘Eponymos’ , which means ‘giving name’. An Eponymos person or thing is one who/which give their name to someone or something.
| Words | Meaning | Etymology |
| America | Continent (including North and South America) | Amerigo Vespucci, Italian Mapmaker |
| ampere | unit of electrical current | Andre M Ampere (1836),French physicist |
| Achilles’ heel | a weakness or vulnerability | Achilles, a hero of Trojan war in Greek mythology. Only his heel was vulnerable where his mother held him while dipping him in River Styx |
| Atlas | a book of maps | Atlas was a Titan who was condemned to hold the sky for eternity |
| August | esteemed and respected | Augustus Caesar, first Roman emperor |
| Braille | Written language for blind people, represented by raised dots | Louise Braille , French educator who went blind at the age of 3 while playing. |
| Boycott | to refuse to buy, or take part in something | Captain Charles C. Boycott , an Irish land agent |
| bloomer | a type of female costume | Amelia Bloomer (1894), American feminist |
| bowdlerize | expurgate portions of writing/book | Thomas Bowdler (1895) Editor |
| Caesar Salad | A rich green salad | Caesar Cardini , Restaurateur |
| Cardigan | woollen garment with buttons or zip in the front | 7th Earl of Cardigan, whose soldiers wore knitted woollen waistcoats to war |
| Casanova | Womanizer | Giacomo Casanova, Italian adventurer and author |
| chauvinism | excessive devotion and aggressive belief | Nicolas Chauvin (1815) French soldier full of excessive patriotism and devotion to Napoleon |
| Celsius | unit for measuring temperature in centigrade or Celsius scale | Anders Celsius, Swedish astronomer. |
| Derby | race or sports competition, premier horse race | 12th Earl of Derby |
| Dickensian | melodramatic writing | Charles Dickens, author |
| Draconian | Severe (measures or laws) | Draco, first legislator of Athens in ancient Greece known for his severe code of laws. |
| Diesel | Fuel used in trucks and other machines | Rudolph Diesel, the German inventor |
| Erotic | relating to sexual desire | Eros, Greek God of love |
| Fahrenheit | temperature measurement | Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit, physicist |
| Ferris wheel | a large vertical wheel, with seats that remain horizontal, used for amusement rides | George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. Pittsburgh bridge builder |
| gladstone | a type of travelling bag | W.E. Gladstone (1898), a British statesman |
| guillotine | an apparatus for beheading | Joseph Ignace Guillotin, French physician who invented it as a less cruel means of execution |
| guy | a man ,fellow | Guy Fawkes, an Italian participant in the Gunpowder plot |
| Herculean | something that requires great effort and strength | Hercules, God of strength |
| Hygiene | practice of keeping self and surroundings clean | Hygeia, Greek goddess of cleanliness and chief attendent to her father Asklepios , God of medicine. |
| jacuzzi | a bath tub fitted with underwater jets for messaging the body | Candido Jacuzzi , inventor of the Jacuzzi brand of baths. |
| Mentor | a person who guides and advices someone over a period of time | Mentor, a guide/ teacher to Odyssues’s son Telemachus |
| Morphine | powerful drug for reducing pain | named after Morpheus, Greek God of dreams. |
| Mach | ratio of an object’s speed in a medium to the sound of speed in that medium | Ernst Waldfried Josef Wenzel Mach, Austrian physicist and philosopher |
| Machiavellian | Cunning and unscrupulous | Nicolo di Bernardo dei Machiavelli, Italian Renaissance diplomat |
| machintosh | rain coat | Charles Machintosh (1843), Scottish chemist and inventor |
| macadamize | build road with stone-chip and bitumen | John M. Mac Adam, British Engineer |
| Marxism | An economic policy in favour of communism | Karl Heinrich Marx, German philosopher |
| Mercurial | changeable and unpredictable behaviour | Mercury ( originally meant born under the planet Mercury ) |
| mesmerize | hypnotize | Franz Friedrich Anton Mesmer (1815) Austrian physician (Father of modern hypnotism) |
| Narcissistic | having an unusually high opinion and admiration of oneself | Narcissus, a hunter and son of river god Cephissus, who was excessively handsome and fell in love with his own reflection |
| Nicotine | A highly addictive chemical found in tobacco plant | Jean Nicot, French ambassador who sent nicotine from Portugal to France. |
| Napoleon Complex | Aggressive behaviour of people with short height to make up for their stature | Napoleon Bonaparte, French military leader |
| Obamacare | A federal law for improving health insurance for US citizens | Barak Obama (44th President of USA -2009 to 2017) |
| Panic | an extreme anxiety causing unthinking behaviour | Pan, the Greek God of shepherds who would often cause a stamped among the flocks with his shouts |
| paparazzi | a news photographer who takes candid photos of celebrities | Paparazzo, a character of news photographer the film La Dolce Vita |
| pasteurisation | process of treating food with heat to eliminate bacteria and increase shelf life | Louis Pasteur, a French chemist |
| pompadour | hairstyle in which the hair in front of the head is brushed up into a high mound | Madam de Pompadour, royal mistress to Louis XV |
| Quisling | traitor | Vidkun Quishling (1945), Norwegian polititian |
| Reaganomics | Economic philosophy of Ronald Regan during the 80s | Ronald Reagan, 40th President of United States |
| saxophone | a musical wind instrument with conical brass tube and keys | Adolphe Sax, a musical instrument designer in Belgium |
| silhouette | the outline of an object seen against the light | Ètienne de Silhouette , French finance minister of 18th c whose hobby was cutting outlines of shadow portraits |
| Sandwich | an item of food with filling between two pieces of bread | Earl of Sandwich, who was fond of eating his food this way so that he did not have to leave the gaming table |
| Shrapnel | Fragments of a shell or bomb thrown by explosion | Major General Henry Shrapnel, British artillery officer |
| Sideburns | Facial hair grown on the sides of the face | Ambrose Burnside, a union leader during Civil War |
| Tantalizing | enticing , something teasingly out of reach | King of Phrygia who was made to stand in a pool of water with fruit hanging above him, which moved away from him if he tried to drink or eatTantalus |
| teddy bear | a soft toy bear | Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of USA who was presented with a stuffed toy bear by Morris Michtom |
| volt | electrical unit | Allesandro Volta (1827), Italian Physicist |
| Vancouver | city in British Columbia, Canada | George Vancouver, explorer |
| watt | a unit of power (symbol W) | James Watt ,Scottish inventor |
| zamboni | a tractor like machine used to smooth ice in skating rink | Frank Zamboni who invented the first ice resurfacing machine |
English Literature and Grammar 
A good collection. Thanks for sharing
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Thank you so much, Sunith. 😊
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Thank you. Gathered new knowledge from your post.
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Gald you found it helpful. 😊
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